Every picture has a story to tell… verbally or silently.

It has been awhile since my last post. Life has been busy but in a very good way. In addition to my new career path; yes, I finally have a job that I can really feel purposeful from it. It has been a long and winding road with many detours and oftentimes, deep pot holes; somehow, I was able to get myself out and discovered amazing opportunities.

In addition to my new career helping people find hope and motivation, I have the opportunity to continued my underwater photography endeavor. I logged 40 dives and now I’m on my way of becoming a dive-master so I can teach underwater photography. I have been very fortunate to have the support of friends who believe in my creative abilities.

Here is a video I shot last Saturday at Mukilteo T-Dock. On my way to the Geo Dome, I got lost and went deeper than where the dome was located. I was at 78 feet when I saw the Ratfish. It was an amazing sight… and lucky me, the Ratfish gave me a break and flirted for the video. I was able to get a fairly steady video in the strong current. The whole encounter lasted less than a minute and yet the experience will be forever etched in my heart…

A couple of months ago, Pirate John introduced me to the world of sailing and now he has rekindled the love that I have lost years ago –Scuba Diving. I was probably about eight years old the first time I watched Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s undersea exploration shows. I was mesmerized by Cousteau’s beautiful underwater world and his French accent. I remember telling my grandma that I wanted be a scuba diver, undersea scientist like him when I grow up. While I ended up studying art, I never abandoned my desire to explore the ocean. A few years after moving to Seattle, I became a certified scuba diver. What an amazing experience. During my first open water dive, I encountered a huge octopus and that was it… the experience made me want to pursue my dream of being an undersea explorer. However, my undersea world was short-lived. Motherhood took center stage and I had to quit scuba. Over the years, I’ve thought about going back to the scuba world but for one reason or another, the timing and money just didn’t work out… until now. Pirate John gave me a wondrous gift — scuba lessons. Since it has been twenty years since my last certification, I have to start over. I will complete my certificate in a few weeks. It’s truly an amazing gift to combine my passion for photography and scuba diving. While I realized that I no longer wanted to be a great undersea scientist like Cousteau, I am looking forward to being an undersea photographer.

Since I can’t shoot underwater yet, I spend the weekend photographing Pirate John, scuba instructors and students from Evergreen Dive Service; the school where I will get my certification as a scuba diver. It was a fun and challenging shooting experience. The day was gray, the water reflective and the divers were mostly black moving objects. Talk about exposure nightmare. It was very difficult to get both the water and the divers with correct exposure at the same time. I decided to shoot a little under exposed so that the sky and water would not blow out. I find it easier to fix an under exposed dark area in Lightroom than a blow out area. Another challenge I encountered was the low light from the gray sky and the constant movement of the divers. I didn’t want to use high ISO so it was difficult to capture sharp images. But in the end, it was all good. I learned a lot on technique and processing. Mostly, it was great shooting and observing the divers in action… I can’t wait to be one of them in a few weeks.

Pirate John

Pirate John & Cool Scuba Instructor, Chad.

A student requiring extra help to put on her fins.

Calm, cool, dive instructor Chad. So patient and understanding.

Pirate John, Alex, and Paul.Finally, Pirate John noticed the camera.

Alex, happy like a fish in water. He passed his dive tests. I’m sure he is looking forward to his diving trip he has planned already…

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Emily Gooch

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